Ortensia

Ortensia arrives as a powdered bouquet that smells like a Victorian herbalist's cabinet—all soft florals and whispered greenery rather than dewy freshness. The hydrangea and violet establish a distinctly papery-petaled aesthetic, the kind of floral character that recalls dried flowers pressed between pages, whilst jasmine adds a faint honeyed warmth without ever becoming honeyed itself. What makes this composition truly distinctive is how the heart notes transform the proposition entirely: heliotrope brings that almond-tinged sweetness that borders on gourmand without committing to it, whilst ylang ylang and geranium introduce a slightly spicy, almost peppery undertone that prevents the fragrance from collapsing into saccharine territory. The artemisia—that herbaceous, slightly bitter note—acts as the composition's backbone, grounding the vanilla and preventing the sweetness from becoming cloying.

This is fundamentally a powdery floral for those who find most modern florals either too candied or too austere. It's a scent for the person who gravitates towards vintage Prada, Frederic Malle's À la rose, or the quieter corners of the L'Artisan Parfumeur catalogue. Wear it on autumn afternoons when you want something with presence but no aggression—during weekend brunches, or those languid evenings when you're reorganising bookshelves. It's unisex because it refuses gendered sweetness or florality; instead, it offers a composed, almost scholarly elegance. This is a fragrance that trusts you to lean in rather than meet you halfway.